Indonesia’s Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted his resignation to parliament on Thursday, Nov. 12, and President Prabowo Subianto accepted it, the Associated Press reported. Reuters independently reported that Gibran handed his letter to the People’s Consultative Assembly, Indonesia’s upper house, as parliamentary leaders prepared to discuss next steps.

The departure closes a period of uncertainty that began when Gibran first offered to resign earlier this week. He is the son of former President Joko Widodo and was elected alongside Prabowo in 2024.

Resignation follows dispute over Gibran’s eligibility

The resignation came amid renewed scrutiny of Gibran’s qualifications for office. The Constitutional Court and Supreme Court ruled last month that documents he submitted about his overseas secondary education did not meet election requirements, according to AP. Indonesia’s election law requires presidential and vice-presidential candidates to have completed senior high school or an equivalent qualification.

On Wednesday, 120 lawmakers from eight political parties submitted a proposal to begin a parliamentary process that could have led to impeachment. The move followed long-running criticism of a 2023 court ruling that allowed Gibran, then under the usual minimum age of 40, to run after serving as a regional leader. Those challenges were part of the political backdrop; they do not by themselves establish wrongdoing by Gibran.

Parliament turns to the succession process

Parliamentary leaders said they would convene to discuss the next steps, Reuters reported. The Associated Press said lawmakers were due to begin selecting a replacement. The resignation is an unusual break in Indonesia’s post-1998 democratic era: AP reported that no vice president had previously left office before the end of a term since the fall of Suharto.

Gibran’s exit also shifts attention to the relationship between Prabowo and Widodo, whose political alliance helped shape the 2024 election. Widodo said he continued to support Prabowo’s administration, while the formal process for filling the vacancy now rests with Indonesia’s political institutions. Follow more developments in The Globuzz’s Politics coverage.

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Sources: Associated Press; Reuters, republished by Investing.com.